The intent of this blog is to highlight areas of the book collecting world that are of interest to me. Henry Altemus Books, the authors- Wayne Whipple, George Peck (and his "Bad Boy"), Hezekiah Butterworth, Jacob Abbott- juvenile series books of the 19th and 20th centuries and book/publisher ephemera. I hope there is something for all collectors here.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

American Boys Series by Lee and Shepard

These are the Format 1book covers

Yesterday I talked about the Live Boys Series published by Lee and Shepard. One of the profound things about that two book series is the price the books command.When I mentioned that these two titles appeared in several of the Lee and Shepard publisher's series, I was reminded how easy it is to be fooled when purchasing on line even when you have a picture

This is the Format 2 cover with a dust jacket.

What I though I would do is show what I mean using the American Boys Series as an example. This series ran from 1898 to 1906. There were 100 titles and all were reprints of previously published Lee and Shepard books. The series began with 25 titles and new volumes were added almost every year. Although each of the formats state the American Boys Series somewhere on the cover or spine, some of the books have no publication dates within the book or in the ads. Instead only the original copyright appears on the copyright page.

So it is possible that a buyer may purchase a book which he/she thinks is a first or early edition yet is really just a late reprint. Now in fairness some of the American Boys Series books do list a date that books were added to the series but the other publishers' series generally list only the original copyright date. Those other series include Mayflower Series for Girls, Pilgrims Series for Boys. Star Series, Choice Adventure Series and Norwood Series and the Patriotic Series for Boys and Girls.So you buy an Optic, Kellogg, Morecamp, DeMille, Kingston, Optic, etc, authored book advertised as an original early book and you get stuck.Here is an example of a sale's ad from a book search site:

Up the North Branch or A Summer's Outing Being the Record of a Camping-Out Trip Up the North Branch of the Penobscot and Down the St. John River Through the Wilds of Maine and New Brunswick, By Members of the "Lake and Forest Club"Farrar, Capt. Charles A. J.Lee and Shepard, 1888. Hardcover. Book Condition: Good. 1st Edition. Red/yellow/tan/black illustrated boards showing boy with bicycle, young man in graduation cap and gown with steamer ship in yellow background. $250

This is the Format 3 Dust jacket cover.

You will note that the description above matches the second format of the American Boys Series described below. It is book #84 and was published between 1902-1904.Value maybe $10-15 not $250. Buyer beware!!

The American Boys Series formats are shown here. They all were dust jacketed.I have seen three formats. The first was used from 1898 to 1901 when the first 65 books were published. The second format was published between 1902 and 1905 and books 66 -95 were added. Format 3 was published in 1906 when books numbered 96-100 were published. (The 1906 books were Lothrop, Lee and Shepard books)

As times goes on I will go over all the other Lee and Shepard publisher's series.

NEW TITLES FOR 190266. Facing the Enemy; Life of Gen. Sherman- P. C. Headley67. Fight it Out on This Life; The Life and Deeds of Gen. Grant- P. C. Headley68. Fighting Phil; The Life of Gen. Sheridan- P. C. Headley69. Old Salamander; The Life of Admiral David Farragut- P.C. Headley70. Old Stars; The Life of Gen. Mitchel- P. C. Headley71. The Miner Boy and His Monitor; The Career of John Ericsson- P. C. Headley72. The Young Silver Seekers- Samuel W. Cozzens73. Drake the Sea King of Devon- George Makepeace Towle74. Magellan- George Marepeace Towle75. Marco Polo; His Travels and Adventures- George Makepeace Towle76. Pizarro, His Adventures and Conquests- George Makepeace Towle77. Raleigh, His Voyages and Adventures- George Makepeace Towle78. Vasco de Gama- George Marepeace Towle79. The Heroes and Martyrs of Invention- George Makepeace Towle80. Live Boys- Arthur Morecamp81. Live Boys in the Black Hills- Arthur Morecamp82. Down the West Branch- Capt. C. A. J. Farrar83. Eastwards Ho!- Capt. C. A. J. Farrar84. Up the North Branch- Capt. C. A. J. Farrar85. Wild Woods Life- Capt. C. A. J. Farrar

4 comments:

based on consistently excellent blog-posts like this, I hereby nominate you to be in charge of updating & re-issuing B.A.L. on-line w/ color photos....and if you prefer, why not just skip all the now obscure authors and just focus on the juvenile-related authors and their various early printings by different publishers, (such as these), with examples shown in the rare dust jackets...

I found a copy of a book called Heros & martyrs of invention it is copyright dated 1890, and is titled with the "American Boys Series" as well as. The publisher is Lee, and Shepard. Any information on this book?

For over 30 plus years I have been collecting Henry Altemus books, juvenile series books, 19th century juvenile books, publishers' ephemera, etc. I hope to share some of interesting things I have learned here.